Methods for polishing phase change materials

ABSTRACT

A slurry for polishing a phase change material, such as Ge—Sb—Te, or germanium-antimony-tellurium (GST), includes abrasive particles of sizes that minimize at least one of damage to (e.g., scratching of) a polished surface of phase change material, an amount of force to be applied during polishing, and a static etch rate of the phase change material, while optionally providing selectivity for the phase change material over adjacent dielectric materials. A polishing method includes applying a slurry with one or more of the above-noted properties to a phase change material, as well as bringing the polishing pad into frictional contact with the phase change material. Polishing systems are disclosed that include a plurality of sources of solids (e.g., abrasive particles) and provide for selectivity in the solids that are applied to a substrate or polishing pad.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/706,755, filed Feb. 14, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,518,296, issuedAug. 27, 2013, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein inits entirety by this reference.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention, in various embodiments, relates generally tomethods for polishing phase change materials including, withoutlimitation, germanium (Ge)—antimony (Sb)—tellurium (Te) (GST) alloys,and to methods for planarizing phase change materials, as well as toslurries for use in polishing or planarizing films that comprise phasechange materials.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Phase change materials, often chalcogenides, are materials with twodistinct states—crystalline and amorphous. Due to the distinctlydifferent electrical resistivities of these two states in somechalcogenides, such as GST (which may have relative atomic ratios ofabout two parts Ge to about two parts Sb to about five parts Te), theyare useful in memory devices, such as those known in the art as “phasechange random access memory” (PCRAM or PRAM) devices, as well as inDVD-ROM (digital video disc-read-only memory) storage media.

Ever-increasing demands in speed and performance require that devicedensities increase and feature sizes decrease from one device generationto the next. Accordingly, state-of-the-art PCRAM devices may have verythin (currently about 10 Å or less) phase change components. Someexisting processes for depositing phase change materials, including GST,in which the phase change materials are deposited in thin (e.g., about1,500 Å thick) layers, do not form layers with good conformality, orcoverage. As phase change materials are typically deposited ontonon-planar surfaces, the surface of the deposited film of phase changematerial is also non-planar. In fact, slight plug recesses (e.g., about100 Å deep or less) beneath a film of phase change material may resultin even larger non-planarities in the surface of the film.Irregularities, such as recesses, in the surface of a film of phasechange material may also appear, and even be amplified, in layers (e.g.,a titanium nitride (TiN) film) that are subsequently formed.

These non-planarities may be problematic during subsequent processing(e.g., in patterning masks and the use of such masks to defineelectrodes, etc.), as well as in operation of a PCRAM device (e.g.,diminish reliability, cause cycling issues, etc.). In addition,non-planarities in a film of phase change material may result in poorcontact between the phase change material and an overlying layer (e.g.,TiN), could cause the phase change material to function in a mannerdifferent from that desired (e.g., by altering the desired spatialdistribution of the phase change material), such as the ability of thephase change material to cycle between its two conductive states, or therequired conditions for effecting such cycling, or otherwise reduce thereliability of a device including the phase change material.

The inventors are not aware of any available processes or compounds thatare tailored for polishing or planarizing phase change materials such asGST.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, which depict various embodiments of the presentinvention,

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the number of defects of at least 0.18 μmsize on borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG) layers on two different siliconwafers when a slurry including 70 nm abrasive particles is used topolish the BPSG;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the number of defects of at least 0.18 μmsize of BPSG layers on two different silicon wafers when a slurryincluding 10 nm abrasive particles is used to polish the BPSG;

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of an embodiment of a polishingsystem that incorporates teachings of the present invention and withwhich various embodiments of compounds and methods of the presentinvention may be used or implemented;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional representation of a semiconductor devicestructure with a layer of phase change material that is to be polishedin accordance with embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a scanning electron micrograph of a section of a semiconductordevice structure with a layer of phase change material that is to bepolished;

FIG. 6 is scanning electron micrograph depicting a surface of asemiconductor device structure of the type shown in FIGS. 4 and 5;

FIG. 7 illustrates polishing of a layer of phase change material;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the region depicted in the circle of FIG.7;

FIG. 9 is a scanning electron micrograph of a section of a semiconductordevice structure with a layer of phase change material that has beenpolished;

FIG. 10 is scanning electron micrograph depicting a surface of thepolished layer of phase change of a semiconductor device structure ofthe type shown in FIG. 9; and

FIGS. 11 and 12 are atomic force microscope (AFM) images of a layer ofphase change material before and after polishing, respectively.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention includes embodiments of methods and compounds forpolishing or planarizing phase change materials, such as GST, andsystems for using such compounds and practicing such methods.

In one embodiment, the present invention includes compounds forpolishing or planarizing phase change materials. A non-limiting exampleof such a compound is a chemical-mechanical polishing slurry forremoving a phase change material, such as GST. A slurry according to anembodiment of the present invention may be configured to minimizemechanical damage and removal of oxides or nitrides; for example, byincluding abrasive particles with relatively small dimensions (e.g.,about 7 nm or less to about 20 nm or even up to about 30 nm).

Despite the possible inclusion of such small particles in a slurry ofthe present invention, it may be configured to polish, or remove, aphase change material, such as GST, at a relatively low force, or“downforce” (e.g., as low as about 3 pounds per square inch (psi) orless, as low as about 1.5 psi or less, etc.). The use of a relativelylow polishing downforce may prevent peeling or delamination of the filmof phase change material, as well as play a role in minimizingscratching of the film of phase change material or of underlying filmsor structures that are exposed during the polishing process.

A slurry according to an embodiment of the present invention may also beconfigured to remove a phase change material, such as GST, at arelatively high rate (e.g., about 200 Å/min. or more, about 400 Å/min.or more, etc., depending, in part, upon the thickness of the polishedfilm, dimensions of the structure of which the film is a part, and thedesired degree of uniformity control—desired removal rates may decreasewith decreases in feature dimensions). A desired removal rate may beachieved by including an appropriate amount or potency of chemicaletchant in the slurry. Any static etching of such a chemical etchant, aswell as the effects thereof, such as “dishing,” that would otherwiseoccur by including the chemical etchant in such an amount or at such apotency may be mitigated by including a sufficient amount of an etchinhibitor in the slurry. A static etch rate of the phase change materialin such a slurry may be relatively small, or tailored to minimize“dishing,” particularly at recessed areas of the film, before and afterpolishing of the film is effected.

According to another embodiment, the present invention includes methodsfor polishing or planarizing phase change materials. As an example ofsuch a method, a film of phase change material (e.g., GST) may bepolished and, optionally, substantially planarized by applying a slurryof the present invention to the film and using a polishing pad of aknown type in conjunction with the slurry to generate sufficientfrictional contact to remove material from the film. As the slurry isapplied to the film, in embodiments where relatively low local pressuresare applied during polishing, appropriately sized (e.g., small) abrasiveparticles in the slurry will not remove material from surfaces ofrecesses in an exposed major surface of the film as aggressively as suchabrasive particles will remove material from the major surface. Etchinhibitor in the slurry may prevent surfaces of the film within therecesses from being subjected to the same level of exposure to chemicaletchants or oxidizers in the slurry as the major surface of the film.

In another embodiment, the present invention also includes systems forpolishing. A polishing system may include an additive applicator and anabrasive applicator. One or both of the applicators may communicate witha variety of sources, facilitating selection in the additive and/orabrasive (e.g., abrasive particle concentration, etc.) that are appliedto a substrate during polishing.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent to those of ordinary skill in the art through consideration ofthe ensuing description, the accompanying drawings, and the appendedclaims.

As noted, a slurry according to embodiments of the present invention mayinclude, among other things, abrasive particles, a chemical etchant, andan etch inhibitor, as well as an oxidizer, in relative amounts that aretailored to remove thin films of phase change materials, such as GST,with selectivity over dielectric layers (e.g., silicon dioxides, siliconnitrides, silicon oxynitrides, etc.).

A slurry that embodies teachings of the present invention includes avariety of liquid and/or dissolved components. One such component is anoxidizer, as polishing slurries are conventionally formulated to oxidizea material or materials that are to be removed. Without limiting thescope of the present invention, oxidizers that may be included in aslurry of the invention include peroxide, persulfic compounds, iodiccompounds, Fe³⁺, and other known, strong oxidizers. When peroxide isincluded, it may be present in an amount of from about 0.5%, by weightof the slurry, to about five percent (5%) or more of the weight of theslurry (e.g., about 1%, about 2%, etc.). The amount of oxidizer includedin the slurry is tailored, of course, to optimize the rate at whichmaterial is removed, as too much oxidizer may result in a hard andhard-to-remove surface.

Once the material or materials that are to be removed have beenoxidized, they may be more easily removed than in their prior, reducedstates by chemical or mechanical means, or a combination of chemical andmechanical means.

A chemical etchant of a slurry according to an embodiment of the presentinvention dissolves oxidized metal. The chemical etchant may beselected, alone or in conjunction with other components of a slurry, toprovide an etch rate that remains substantially uniform duringpolishing. The chemical etchant may include a group that acts as a goodcomplexing agent. Non-limiting examples of such groups include amino,and carboxyl groups. A specific example of such a chemical etchant isammonium citrate, in which the ammonium is a complexing agent and thecitric acid has a buffering effect. Ammonium citrate may be included ina slurry of the present invention in an amount of as small as about0.01% of the weight of the slurry to about five percent (5%) of theweight of the slurry (e.g., about 0.3%, by weight, of the slurry).

Any static etching of such a chemical etchant, as well as the effectsthereof, such as “dishing,” may be mitigated by including a sufficientamount of an etch inhibitor in the slurry. A static etch rate of a phasechange material, such as GST, in such a slurry may be relatively small,or tailored to minimize “dishing” in a film of the phase changematerial, before and after polishing of the film is effected. An etchinhibitor, such as benzotriazole (BTA), may be applied to decrease thestatic etch rate of the phase change material.

The amount of etch inhibitor included in a slurry depends, at leastpartially, upon the desired etch rate. Other factors, such as the amountof oxidizer or chemical etchant included in the slurry, may also beconsidered in determining a suitable amount of etch inhibitor to beincluded. As an example, when BTA is employed as the etch inhibitor, itmay be included in the slurry in a concentration of about 500 parts permillion (ppm), about 1,000 ppm, or any other suitable amount.

Relative amounts of the oxidizer, the chemical etchant, and the etchinhibitor in a slurry of the present invention may enable a static etchrate of as low as about 120 Å/min. or less (e.g., about 70 Å/min orless.) in a slurry according to an embodiment of the present invention.The static etch rate may be decreased by decreasing an amount or potencyof oxidizer in such a slurry, increasing an amount or potency of etchinhibitor in such a slurry, or a combination of the foregoing, as shownin the following TABLE 1, which summarizes the static etch rates of GSTwhen exposed to slurries including 0.3% ammonium citrate and the listedamounts of peroxide (oxidizer) and BTA (etch inhibitor):

TABLE 1 BTA Peroxide Static Etch Rate (Å/min.) 500 ppm 2% (by weight)~120 500 ppm 1% (by weight) ~70 1,000 ppm   2% (by weight) ~80

In addition to liquid and dissolved components, a slurry of anembodiment of the present invention includes solids. For example, such aslurry may include abrasive particles. Any known, suitable type ofabrasive particles, including, without limitation, colloidal silica, maybe included in a slurry according to the present invention. The abrasiveparticles may comprise any suitable amount of the total slurry; e.g.,about one percent (1%) to about five percent (5%) (e.g., about twopercent (2%)) of the slurry, by weight.

The abrasive particles may comprise all or substantially all of thesolids in such a slurry.

The abrasive particles of a slurry of an embodiment of the presentinvention may have dimensions that minimize defects, such as mechanicaldamage (e.g., scratches and other types of damage) to the polished filmand adjacent structures. Additionally, the dimensions of the abrasiveparticles may be selected to increase topography selectivity so thatplanarization may be improved. The dimensions, or sizes, of suchabrasive particles may be about 30 nm across or less (e.g., about 20 nm,about 10 nm, about 7 nm, etc.). Abrasive particles with such smalldimensions are available from a variety of manufacturers of CMPslurries, such as Fujimi Corporation of Tualatin, Oregon. When abrasiveparticles with such small dimensions are included in a slurry thatembodies the present invention, even aggregates of the abrasiveparticles are small enough not to cause a significant amount ofmechanical damage, in the form of scratching (e.g., scratches of about0.18 μm wide or wider) or otherwise, in a polished film of phase changematerial.

This reduction in defects was verified by analyzing the effects ofpolishing BPSG layers on silicon wafers with slurries that included 70nm abrasive particles and comparing the results with the defects presentin BPSG layers on silicon wafers that were polished under substantiallythe same conditions (i.e., within acceptable tolerances), but with aslurry that included 10 nm abrasive particles. Specifically, the numberof defects in the BPSG layer of each polished wafer, including scratchesand non-visual defects with dimensions of 0.18 μm or greater, werecounted by known processes. FIG. 1 shows the results of such analysis onthe BPSG layers that were polished by the slurry that included 70 nmabrasive particles, while the number of defects present in BPSG layerspolished with a slurry that included smaller, 10 nm abrasive particlesare shown in the representation provided in FIG. 2. Specifically, 756defects and 779 defects were counted in and on the BPSG layers that werepolished using 70 nm abrasive particles (FIG. 1), while only 91 and 66defects were counted in and on the BPSG layers that were polished withslurries that included 10 nm abrasive particles (FIG. 2). These numbersindicate that polishing with a slurry that includes relatively smallabrasive particles may decrease scratching by as much as about 80% ormore over more conventionally configured slurries, which include largerabrasive particles.

A slurry of an embodiment of the present invention includes an oxidizer,a chemical etchant, an etch inhibitor, and abrasive particles, and,optionally, other components in amounts that are tailored to impart sucha slurry with the ability to polish, or remove, a phase change material,such as GST, at a relatively low downforce (e.g., about 3 psi or less,about 1.5 psi or less, about 0.3 psi, etc.) but at a relatively highrate (e.g., about 200 Å/min. or more, about 400 Å/min. or more, etc.).Such a slurry may also be formulated to remove a phase change materialwith selectivity over other materials, such as dielectric materials(e.g., silicon dioxides, silicon nitrides, silicon oxynitrides, etc.)that underlie portions of the film of phase change material and that areto be located adjacent to a resulting phase change component. As aspecific, non-limiting example, an embodiment of a slurry of the presentinvention may include one percent (1%) peroxide, 0.3% citric ammonia,500 ppm BTA, and two percent (2%) colloidal silica, with all percentagesbeing calculated on the basis of the total weight of the slurry.

Turning now to FIG. 3, a polishing system 100 with which a slurry (e.g.,as a slurry of the present invention, etc.) may be used is schematicallyillustrated. Polishing system 100 includes a polishing pad 102, anadditive applicator 104, an abrasive applicator 108, and a rinse system114, each of which may comprise components of types known in the art.

Additive applicator 104 and abrasives applicator 108 are configured toapply parts of a slurry 120 to polishing pad 102 or to a substrate (notshown) with which polishing pad 102 is to be used. As illustrated,additive applicator 104 communicates with a source 106 of additives(e.g., a polishing solution, oxidizers, etchants, etc.). Abrasiveapplicator 108 similarly communicates with sources 110 of abrasive. Amixer 112 may be applied to ensure adequate mixing (e.g., which includesabrasive particle dispersion). Such a configuration provides for tunableselectivity in and during the polishing process (e.g., by way of avalve, which may be controlled by computer, manually, etc.). In anexample of the use of such a system, an initial fast removal may befollowed by a soft landing. As another example, if removal of somedielectric material is also desired when a selective slurry (e.g., forphase change material over dielectric material) according to the presentinvention is employed a concentration of particles in a polishing slurrymay be increased during a polishing process.

Rinse system 114 is configured to dilute a slurry on polishing pad 102,a substrate, or both, or to remove the slurry from polishing pad 102,substrate, or both.

With reference to FIGS. 4 through 13, an example of a process thatincorporates teachings of the present invention is illustrated.

In FIG. 4, a portion of a semiconductor device structure 10 is depicted.Semiconductor device structure 10 includes, among other things, asubstrate 12 with an active surface 14, a dielectric layer 16 formedover active surface 14 and including a contact aperture 18 therethrough,and a conductive plug 20 (e.g., a titanium nitride plug) filling aportion of contact aperture 18. Thus, a surface 21 of conductive plug 20is recessed relative to a corresponding surface of the dielectric layer16. Semiconductor device structure 10 may be formed by known processesfor fabricating PCRAM devices.

A phase change layer 22, which includes phase change material (e.g.,GST), is formed over dielectric layer 16. Any suitable process,including, without limitation, known physical vapor deposition (PVD),metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) processes, or the like,may be used to form phase change layer 22. Phase change layer 22 may bedeposited at a thickness that exceeds a desired final thickness of phasechange layer 22. By way of non-limiting example, if a final thickness ofabout 500 Å to about 1,500 Å is desired, the thickness to which phasechange layer 22 is formed may be about 750 Å to about 1,750 Å,respectively. In a more specific example, shown in FIG. 5, phase changelayer 22 may have an initial thickness of about 1,160 Å, with a desiredfinal thickness of about 500 Å (e.g., 510 Å; see FIG. 9).

As phase change layer 22 is formed, phase change material thereof fillsa remainder of contact aperture 18. As a result, recesses 24 are formedin a surface 23 of phase change layer 22. Recesses 24 are located overcorresponding indentations, such as contact apertures 18, as illustratedin FIG. 4. FIG. 6 provides another view of surface 23, which is ascanning electron micrograph (SEM) that shows the topography of surface23 of phase change layer 22, including a plurality of recesses 24 formedtherein.

Recesses 24 and other non-planarities in surface 23 of phase changematerial may be removed by polishing phase change layer 22. As shown inFIG. 7, a slurry 120, such as a slurry that incorporates teachings ofthe present invention, as described hereinabove, may be applied tosurface 23 of phase change layer 22. As shown in the close-up viewprovided by FIG. 8, some particles 122 of slurry 120 are introduced intorecesses 24 and may not polish aggressively (e.g., due to the presenceof less localized pressure within recesses 24 in surface 23 than thatpresent on surface 23 during polishing, etc.).

With returned reference to FIG. 7, a polishing pad 102 may be placedover slurry 120 and brought into frictional contact with surface 23(e.g., by rotation, vibration, or otherwise, of one or both ofsemiconductor device structure 10 (FIG. 4) and polishing pad 102, asknown in the art). The force, or downforce, at which such frictionalcontact is applied between polishing pad 102 and surface 23 may berelatively low (e.g., about 3 psi or less, about 1.5 psi or less, about0.3 psi, etc.). The applied downforce may be substantially constantthroughout the process, or greater downforce (e.g., 7 psi when layer 22is to be substantially removed by the polishing processes, leaving onlyphase change plugs, 3 psi when a reduction in layer thickness orsubstantial planarization is desired, etc.) may be initially applied,then reduced (e.g., to 2 psi, 1.5 psi, 1 psi, or less), gradually orincrementally, prior to completion of the polishing process. As suchfrictional contact occurs, material of phase change layer 22 is removed.

As an alternative approach to the use of different amounts of downforceat different points in a polishing process, abrasive particles withdifferent concentrations may be used to polish a substrate at differenttimes during a polishing process, such as with a system of the typedescribed with reference to FIG. 3. Higher concentrations of abrasiveparticles may be used before relatively lower concentrations of abrasiveparticles to improve material removal rates.

Material removal may be effected until a polished surface of layer 22 issubstantially planar (e.g., includes small recesses than were presentbefore polishing), until a thickness of layer 22 is substantially adesired final thickness thereof, or until a surface of dielectric layer16 is exposed, such as in cases where the formation of a phase changeplug is desired.

When a slurry including 1% peroxide, 0.3% citric ammonia, 500 ppm BTA,and 2% colloidal silica, all percentages by weight, was used to polish aGST film at downforces of 1.5 psi and 2.0 psi, the rates at which GSTwas removed were:

TABLE 2 Edge Middle Center Avg. Removal removal removal removal Process(Å/min.) (Å/min.) (Å/min.) (Å/min.) 1.5 psi 138 461.4 512.3 ~370 80/70rpm 2.0 psi 246.3 564 522.2 ~444 80/70 rpm

Further optimization of the slurry provided the following results, inwhich edge removal rates were even further increased:

TABLE 3 Edge Middle Center Avg. Removal removal removal removal Process(Å/min.) (Å/min.) (Å/min.) (Å/min.) 1.5 psi 230 230 408 289 80/70 rpm0.5% H₂O₂ 2.0 psi 513 560 572 548 80/70 rpm 1% H₂O₂

To demonstrate the selectivity with which the same slurry formulationremoves GST over silicon nitride, further polish testing was performed,as set forth in the following table:

TABLE 4 Process Silicon Nitride Polish Rate (Å/min.) 1.0 psi ~11 80/70rpm 1.5 psi ~16 80/70 rpm 2.0 psi ~18 80/70 rpm

During polishing, the dimensions, or sizes, of recesses 24 are reduced,or recesses 24 are substantially eliminated from phase change layer 22as the thickness of phase change layer 22 is reduced to about itsdesired final thickness, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, which correspond toFIGS. 5 and 6, respectively.

In addition to reducing the dimensions, or sizes, of recesses 24, when aslurry of the present invention is used in such a polishing process, asurface roughness of phase change layer 22 may be reduced. In thisregard, FIGS. 11 and 12, respectively show atomic force microscope (AFM)images of an as-deposited surface of a phase change layer (a GST film)and a post-polishing surface of the same phase change layer. As shown inFIG. 11, an AFM analysis of a surface of an MOCVD-deposited phase changelayer 22 prior to polishing provides the following information:

TABLE 5 Location R_(q) (nm) R_(a) (nm) Z Range (nm) Center 1.07 0.878.56 Edge 1.02 0.83 7.89where R_(a) is an average roughness, measured in terms of an absolutevalue of the heights of surface roughness features within a region fromwhich measurements are obtained; R_(q) is the root mean square (RMS)roughness, which is a measure of the magnitude of variations in theheights of a surface roughness features within an analyzed region; and ZRange is the total extent of height variation, or the maximum surfacefeature roughness height, in the analyzed region of a surface.

An AFM analysis of phase change layer 22 after polishing has occurred,which is illustrated in the image shown in FIG. 12, provides thefollowing data:

TABLE 6 Location R_(q) (nm) R_(a) (nm) Z Range (nm) Center 0.63 0.505.47 Edge 0.89 0.72 7.47

A comparison of the data in TABLE 5 with the data in TABLE 6 indicatesthat polishing with a slurry according to the present invention reducessurface roughness of a layer or film of a phase change material, such asGST.

Once polishing is complete, any remaining slurry and debris may beremoved from semiconductor device structure 10, such as by known cleanand rinse processes. Subsequent processing (e.g., the deposition of atitanium nitride layer, etc.) may then be effected, as known in the art.When the polishing process is used to increase the planarity of layer22, subsequently formed layers (e.g., material layers, mask layers,etc.) may also have optimal planarity.

While polishing has been described and illustrated in the context ofpolishing layers of phase change materials on semiconductor devicestructures, embodiments of the present invention may also be employed topolish or planarize layers of phase change materials in other contexts(e.g., on other substrates) as well.

Although the foregoing description contains many specifics, these shouldnot be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention, butmerely as providing illustrations of some of the presently preferredembodiments. Similarly, other embodiments of the invention may bedevised which do not depart from the spirit or scope of the presentinvention. Features from different embodiments may be employed incombination. The scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated andlimited only by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, ratherthan by the foregoing description. All additions, deletions andmodifications to the invention as disclosed herein that fall within themeaning and scope of the claims are to be embraced thereby.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for polishing a phase change material,comprising: applying a slurry to at least one of a polishing pad and thephase change material, the slurry consisting essentially of: from about1% by weight to about 2% by weight of a peroxide; from about 0.01% byweight to about 0.05% by weight of ammonium citrate; and from about 500ppm to about 1000 ppm of benzotriazole; and from about 1% by weight toabout 2% by weight colloidal silica particles, each having a particlesize of about 30 nm or less; and polishing the phase change materialwith the polishing pad.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein applying aslurry to at least one of a polishing pad and the phase change materialcomprises: supplying the peroxide, the ammonium citrate, and thebenzotriazole of the slurry to the at least one of the polishing pad andthe phase change material using a first applicator; and supplying thecolloidal silica abrasive particles of the slurry to the at least one ofthe polishing pad and the phase change material using a secondapplicator.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising mixing theperoxide, the ammonium citrate, the benzotriazole, and the colloidalsilica abrasive particles before applying the slurry to the at least oneof the polishing pad and the phase change material.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising diluting the slurry on the at least one of apolishing pad and the phase change material.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein polishing the phase change material with the polishing padcomprises bringing the polishing pad into frictional contact with thephase change material using an applied downforce of less than or equalto about 3.0 psi.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein polishing the phasechange material with the polishing pad comprises bringing the polishingpad into frictional contact with the phase change material using atleast two different applied downforces.
 7. The method of claim 6,wherein bringing the polishing pad into frictional contact with thephase change material using at least two different applied downforcescomprises: removing a portion of the phase change material using aninitial applied downforce; and removing another portion of the phasechange material using another applied downforce, the another applieddownforce less than the initial applied downforce.